Selena will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys. Seems like a perfect opportunity to remind ya'll what made her so special. 1. She was a true artistic vanguard, almost single-handedly revolutionizing a form of American roots music into cutting edge bops.
Selena grew up on Tejano, an underdog genre which fused the accordion from German immigrants and the Mexican folk guitar. Selena and her musician family added modern synths, R&B inspired vocals and pop arrangements into Tejano. An explosive, lasting combination.
It's still astounding, what she did. She took a form of rural, regional music and brought it to the international stage, selling out world stages and at one point making Tejano the fastest growing Latino genre in the country. She did all of this before the age of 23.
2. Selena was a musical polyglot. She honed her chops at Tejano weddings and community gatherings, where she had to capture viejitxs and teenagers in the same crowd. And she did it. Mastering Mexican rancheras, freestyle, R&B, cumbia and pop in the same performance.
It could've been cheesy but homegirl actually had that once-in-a-lifetime RANGE. She possessed an almost super human musicality, the ability to embody the music with ease and power. She could MOVE. She never took formal dance classes but watched Soul Train for hours <3
3. She constantly cited Black divas as a source of inspiration. Primarily Janet Jackson -- both in music and fashion. She also cited Jody Watley, A Taste of Honey and Whitney Houston. She cited them by name, specifically and deliberately declaring her admiration for Black women
Selena started her last concert with Disco -- which originated in Black, Queer scenes -- and mixed in Cumbia, a rhythm by Black Colombians and Native ppl throughout Latin America. Selena’s performance of these things breathed life to a connection that's been historically erased:
That indigenous and Black ancestry are often inextricably linked in this continent. Selena’s disco medley, with her back-up dancer Don Shelton (RIP) is a visual representation of Africa in the Americas.
4. People talk about what a big deal it would have been if she had crossed over to the American market in her lifetime. But she was ALREADY a crossover queen. Do you know how profound it was to see a woman who spoke broken Spanish, the Queen of pochas, cross over into MEXICO?
It was life-changing for me to see that. To see a woman embrace and champion a culturally specific, working class Mexican-American identity that at this point in history, had been so derided, so put down. But in Selena, it was a source of joy. In Mexico and the U.S.
I could go on. And I do in @selena_podcast . In a few days, it'll be 26 years since we lost her. I hope by some cosmic grace, she is aware of what an imprint she left on the world and on so many women like me. Thank you Selena for blooming evermore. #selenaquintanilla #Selena
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